Washington
Trump eyes basing his new Board of Peace at a D.C. building in legal limbo
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is looking at basing the new Board of Peace, which is tied to both the Gaza ceasefire and larger international ambitions, in the Washington building that formerly housed the U.S. Institute of Peace, according to four administration officials.
The officials, who spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said the topic has been a matter of serious discussion, but they stressed that a final decision has not yet been made about where the board’s administrative staff will be located.
The building is the subject of litigation brought by former employees and executives of the nonprofit think tank after the Republican administration seized the facility last year and fired almost all the institute’s staff.
The building has since been renamed the Donald J. Trump U.S. Institute of Peace, but its name and status remain in legal limbo.
A federal judge had ruled that the U.S. Institute of Peace, as an independent nongovernmental organization established by Congress, is not subject to executive branch control and that the takeover was illegal. Enforcement of that decision was put on hold after the government appealed.
“A stay is not permission for the loser of a case to hijack the property of the winning party,” said George Foote, counsel for former USIP leadership and staff. “The government does not have a license to rename the USIP headquarters building or lease it out for ten years.”
“It certainly has no right to open the building to a new international organization like the proposed Board of Peace,” Foote said in a statement.
Rumors that Trump planned to use the building for the Board of Peace began to circulate after the administration used the board’s logo over an image of the USIP building and its distinctive domed roof.
That was shown when Trump unveiled the Board of Peace last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The board currently has 27 “founding members” made up of world leaders whose initial task is to oversee Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan.
But Trump appears to have greater ambitions for the board, and its charter says it will look to take on and resolve other global conflicts. Many of America’s top allies in Europe and elsewhere have declined to join what they suspect may be an attempt to rival the U.N. Security Council.
Alabama
Judge, a university donor, recuses himself from player’s eligibility case against the NCAA
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — The judge in Alabama center Charles Bediako’s eligibility lawsuit against the NCAA has recused himself from the case.
Tuscaloosa Circuit Court Judge James Roberts filed the order Wednesday, according to court documents. AL.com first reported Roberts’ recusal.
The case was reassigned to Judge Daniel Pruet, an Alabama graduate who is overseeing the murder case involving former Crimson Tide player Darius Miles.
The NCAA filed a motion for recusal Tuesday, noting Roberts’ donations to the university as well as public perception that his relationship with Alabama athletics could alter his judgment in the case.
Roberts was listed as a donor on the Crimson Tide Foundation’s website.
“Courts in Alabama and beyond have widely recognized that a mere appearance of partiality is sufficient to require the recusal of a trial judge,” the NCAA wrote. “This appearance can be compounded by widespread media and public scrutiny questioning the trial court’s impartiality. Despite the NCAA’s confidence that the Court can disregard his connections to the University of Alabama and its athletics programs, recusal is still necessary to protect these proceedings from an appearance of impropriety.”
Bediako’s attorneys did not oppose the motion.
Bediako is suing the NCAA in an attempt to regain college eligibility despite leaving school and entering the 2023 NBA draft. He went undrafted but signed a two-way NBA contract and played the past three seasons in the G League. Roberts granted a temporary restraining order last week that allows Bediako to play for the Crimson Tide, at least until a hearing on an injunction can be held.
No. 23 Alabama plays at No. 19 Florida on Sunday.
The NCAA and several college coaches, including Florida’s Todd Golden, have strongly opposed Bediako’s return to college basketball.
Washington
Kennedy Center’s head of artistic programming steps down 2 weeks after taking the job
WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of artistic programming at the Kennedy Center abruptly stepped away from his post less than two weeks after he was named to the job in the latest sign of turmoil at the iconic performing arts venue.
The Kennedy Center announced in a Jan. 16 press release that Kevin Couch would join the venue as senior vice president of artistic programming. But he confirmed in an email on Thursday that he resigned from the role on Wednesday without providing an explanation for the development.
Representatives for the Kennedy Center did not immediately comment on his departure. In the press release earlier this month, Kennedy Center president Ric Grenell welcomed Couch to the role “as we expand our commonsense programming.”
“Kevin brings a clear-eyed approach to curating a roster of compelling shows that invite and inspire all audiences,” Grenell said.
Couch’s exit comes as the Kennedy Center navigates a wave of artists canceling their performances there as a way to protest the new leadership installed by President Donald Trump. Trump’s handpicked board of trustees added the Republican president’s name to the venue late last year.
In just the past week, composer Philip Glass called off a scheduled world premiere at the Kennedy Center of a symphony about Abraham Lincoln. Grammy-winning soprano Renée Fleming also withdrew from two scheduled May appearances at the venue.
Trump and first lady Melania Trump are expected to walk the red carpet at the Kennedy Center on Thursday for the premiere of “Melania,” a documentary she produced about the 20 days leading up to his return to the White House.
Trump eyes basing his new Board of Peace at a D.C. building in legal limbo
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is looking at basing the new Board of Peace, which is tied to both the Gaza ceasefire and larger international ambitions, in the Washington building that formerly housed the U.S. Institute of Peace, according to four administration officials.
The officials, who spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said the topic has been a matter of serious discussion, but they stressed that a final decision has not yet been made about where the board’s administrative staff will be located.
The building is the subject of litigation brought by former employees and executives of the nonprofit think tank after the Republican administration seized the facility last year and fired almost all the institute’s staff.
The building has since been renamed the Donald J. Trump U.S. Institute of Peace, but its name and status remain in legal limbo.
A federal judge had ruled that the U.S. Institute of Peace, as an independent nongovernmental organization established by Congress, is not subject to executive branch control and that the takeover was illegal. Enforcement of that decision was put on hold after the government appealed.
“A stay is not permission for the loser of a case to hijack the property of the winning party,” said George Foote, counsel for former USIP leadership and staff. “The government does not have a license to rename the USIP headquarters building or lease it out for ten years.”
“It certainly has no right to open the building to a new international organization like the proposed Board of Peace,” Foote said in a statement.
Rumors that Trump planned to use the building for the Board of Peace began to circulate after the administration used the board’s logo over an image of the USIP building and its distinctive domed roof.
That was shown when Trump unveiled the Board of Peace last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The board currently has 27 “founding members” made up of world leaders whose initial task is to oversee Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan.
But Trump appears to have greater ambitions for the board, and its charter says it will look to take on and resolve other global conflicts. Many of America’s top allies in Europe and elsewhere have declined to join what they suspect may be an attempt to rival the U.N. Security Council.
Alabama
Judge, a university donor, recuses himself from player’s eligibility case against the NCAA
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — The judge in Alabama center Charles Bediako’s eligibility lawsuit against the NCAA has recused himself from the case.
Tuscaloosa Circuit Court Judge James Roberts filed the order Wednesday, according to court documents. AL.com first reported Roberts’ recusal.
The case was reassigned to Judge Daniel Pruet, an Alabama graduate who is overseeing the murder case involving former Crimson Tide player Darius Miles.
The NCAA filed a motion for recusal Tuesday, noting Roberts’ donations to the university as well as public perception that his relationship with Alabama athletics could alter his judgment in the case.
Roberts was listed as a donor on the Crimson Tide Foundation’s website.
“Courts in Alabama and beyond have widely recognized that a mere appearance of partiality is sufficient to require the recusal of a trial judge,” the NCAA wrote. “This appearance can be compounded by widespread media and public scrutiny questioning the trial court’s impartiality. Despite the NCAA’s confidence that the Court can disregard his connections to the University of Alabama and its athletics programs, recusal is still necessary to protect these proceedings from an appearance of impropriety.”
Bediako’s attorneys did not oppose the motion.
Bediako is suing the NCAA in an attempt to regain college eligibility despite leaving school and entering the 2023 NBA draft. He went undrafted but signed a two-way NBA contract and played the past three seasons in the G League. Roberts granted a temporary restraining order last week that allows Bediako to play for the Crimson Tide, at least until a hearing on an injunction can be held.
No. 23 Alabama plays at No. 19 Florida on Sunday.
The NCAA and several college coaches, including Florida’s Todd Golden, have strongly opposed Bediako’s return to college basketball.
Washington
Kennedy Center’s head of artistic programming steps down 2 weeks after taking the job
WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of artistic programming at the Kennedy Center abruptly stepped away from his post less than two weeks after he was named to the job in the latest sign of turmoil at the iconic performing arts venue.
The Kennedy Center announced in a Jan. 16 press release that Kevin Couch would join the venue as senior vice president of artistic programming. But he confirmed in an email on Thursday that he resigned from the role on Wednesday without providing an explanation for the development.
Representatives for the Kennedy Center did not immediately comment on his departure. In the press release earlier this month, Kennedy Center president Ric Grenell welcomed Couch to the role “as we expand our commonsense programming.”
“Kevin brings a clear-eyed approach to curating a roster of compelling shows that invite and inspire all audiences,” Grenell said.
Couch’s exit comes as the Kennedy Center navigates a wave of artists canceling their performances there as a way to protest the new leadership installed by President Donald Trump. Trump’s handpicked board of trustees added the Republican president’s name to the venue late last year.
In just the past week, composer Philip Glass called off a scheduled world premiere at the Kennedy Center of a symphony about Abraham Lincoln. Grammy-winning soprano Renée Fleming also withdrew from two scheduled May appearances at the venue.
Trump and first lady Melania Trump are expected to walk the red carpet at the Kennedy Center on Thursday for the premiere of “Melania,” a documentary she produced about the 20 days leading up to his return to the White House.
